Bel Acres' Sholdice leading junior tourney

TWO down, two more to go.

That's the way 18-year-old Ryan Sholdice sees it now that only 36 holes separate him from winning his first Golf Manitoba Men's Junior Championship.

Sholdice, a member of Bel Acres Golf and Country Club, took over sole possession of top spot on the leaderboard Wednesday after finishing second, one stroke behind 16-year-old Zach Sackett from Elmhurst, at the end of Tuesday's opening round.

"I felt I played good again today," said Sholdice, who finished round 2 with a 3-under 69. "I got the ball close, hitting within 10 feet (of the cup) on each of the first four holes."

Sholdice's 69 was a single stroke short of his first-round 4-under 68, giving the 6-foot-2 righty an impressive two-round score of seven under par.

But the day at John Blumberg didn't come without its share of struggles.

After four birdies in as many holes to open the round, Sholdice shot one over par on the next 14.

"I struggled on the back nine because I was tired," he said as he whipped the sweat from his head in an interview after his final hole. "I got here early and have been here all day."

That's because thundershowers in the morning postponed tee times by more than four-and-a-half hours, resulting in Sholdice, along with many other golfers scheduled to tee off early, to sit and wait for better weather. Once dark skies cleared, the air was thick and humid. Many golfers could be seen shaded by umbrellas as temperatures reached 32 C.

"I pretty much just drank a lot of water and sat in the shade whenever I could," Sholdice said.

But the conditions might have had the biggest effect on Sackett, the leader after round 1.

After finishing the opening round with an impressive 5-under 67, Sackett shot a disappointing 77 Wednesday, keeping him at even par going in to the final two rounds.

"I was striking the ball well, but I was getting really unlucky with bounces," said Sackett after finishing the 18th hole. "My putts weren't dropping. I had probably four putts that just stayed on the lip, which pretty much sums up my round -- unlucky."

Sholdice will head into the third round, which will be played at St. Charles Country Club along with the final round Friday,with a five-stroke lead on fellow Bel Acres member Darren Kelpin.

The first round of the girls' three- round championship began Wednesday, with 14 girls registered for the event.

The day's top score went to Southwood's Breanne Fredette with a score of 3-over 75.

Glendale's Jenna Roadley came in with an opening round of 80. She last competed in the tournament in 2010, winning by a margin of 14 strokes.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Leaderboard

Men

1. Ryan Sholdice, Bel Acres-7

2. Darren Kelpin, Bel Acres-5

3. Mike Peters, St. Charles -24. Zach Sackett, Elmhurst E

5. David Nelson, Southwood +1

Women

B.Fredette, Southwood +3

Dana Todd, St. Charles +5

N.McGlenen, St. Charles +5 Jenna Roadley, Glendale +7

K.McGlenen, St. Charles +9

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 5, 2012 D4